Team-BHP - A weekend warrior's venture into the world of comprehensive detailing

Great thread, it is amazing to see very detailed 'detailing' on your car! clap:

It is very difficult to maintain a black car due to minute scratches and swirl marks. I watched many professional car detailing videos on YouTube and the efforts you put in, products used and the end result of yours is on par with those videos. Great stuff. Loved reading it. I bought couple of detailing products from the U.S like Turtle wax, Mother's polish and 303 Aerospace solvent and also many Formula 1 and 3M detailing products locally, but I always postponed doing it on my car due to my laziness. I will take this thread as an inspiration to do my part. Appreciate all the efforts put in and thanks for sharing! :thumbs up

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000 (Post 4884883)

If not done properly it will ruin you cars colour and will leave scratches, especially on black ones.

You're quite right about it! Detailing has a steep learning curve and takes many sessions to acquire the right technique. I practiced machine polishing initially on a scrap car door and learnt a lot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Varun_HexaGuy (Post 4884887)

How's the Menzerna Heavy Cut Compound 400 performing? I've personally used the Menzerna Heavy Cut Compound 1000 along with the Menzerna 3-in-1 step polish.

Menzerna HC 400 is one of the finest DAT compounds you could lay your hands on.

Albeit being a DAT, it felt quite easy to work with and finishes very well, no micro-marring and nearly LSP ready!

I think when one has a car one is genuinely proud and happy to own is then only one would take so much efforts to the kind of detailing you have done. The amount of products that you have for the car, I do not even take half the pain on my own self. Kudos for your efforts. May your car always shine the way it does in the pics.

Wonderful to see the focus on maintaining your ride. Detailing is precisely that, attention to details and lot of patience. This cannot be a rush job. And you've got quite the arsenal at your disposal to fight the dirt!!

If I may, will recommend two items that have proved quite useful to me and not just from car perspective.
1. Power washer. It does short work of getting hard to remove crud in the wheelwells, where there is no paint damage expected.
2. If you have a cordless drill/driver, rotary brushes which come with a hex shank are very useful for floor mats and carpet cleaning. Since I bought those, they have seen more work around the house than my cars.

An interesting video (or channel) is below. While I would never let my cars get to this condition, the transformation is just awesome.

link

p.s. - No affiliation of any sort with this channel.

Quote:

Originally Posted by R2D2 (Post 4884902)

Wow, really inspiring me to get my car dolled up, she's been neglected since March this year :)

Well, you're one among the few members who inspired me a lot sir!

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhiteSierra (Post 4885029)

I watched many professional car detailing videos on YouTube and the efforts you put in, products used and the end result of yours is on par with those videos.

Thanks for your compliments and happy to have inspired fellow enthusiasts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar (Post 4885211)

I think when one has a car one is genuinely proud and happy to own

You're quite spot on sir! I love this car so much that I take utmost care of it than the other 2 cars in my garage. stupid:

Well done clap:Nice effort in maintaining this gorgeous black color.
Could you please share if any specific steps are taken for the windshield, headlights, and other glass areas.
I would suggest, adding a water repellent process to the windshield will be of great help if not yet tried.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pferdestarke (Post 4882312)

The order I follow while washing: Rims and under-body – wheel arches – side skirts and air dams – then roof followed by rest of the panels.

Regular checkups and cleaning process of the under-body are also important. I have difficulty to reach the maximum area because of limited options. when you did the under-body washing, was that at the all sides edges till the hand reach or any special procedure to cover and protect more. please share.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pferdestarke (Post 4883127)

Also, applied 2 coats of 845 on rims and treated my eyes with the final results.
The finished product after 2 coats of Meguiars NXT sealant and a single coat of Collinite 845 I'm a sucker for reflections and this made my day :D

As per my experience and observation, Collinite 845 Insulator wax is a great product. Applied with 2 proper coats, it will protect well for at least 3 months and can easily hold till 6 months with proper care.

Bling Bling! Absolutely stunning outcome. Reminds me the first time I decided to detail my car(with hand and no powertools). Painstaking and meticulous effort from you. I have been wanting to sand the clear coat for orange peel removal on my scross. Too scared to try it at the moment. Thanks for sharing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bsimhan (Post 4884787)

Wow. That is an awesome detail. That shine it out of this world.A friend of mine recommended a ceramic coating from Meguiars. Have you tried this or if any of our members have tried it, please post your comments.

I tried Turtle wax ICE seal and shine. They are similar products and claim similar results.
Most reviews conclude that turtle wax ICE seal and shine is way superior in all parameters (shine, water beading & sheathing, durability against chemicals and longevity).
However I was not at all happy with it’s performance.
Durability was bad, didn’t last even 2 weeks (washed cars around 5 times, 3 with car shampoo). Hardly added any shine on paint. Beading was good, but little to less sheathing.
I would say, traditional carnuuba based wax is the best. Have been using formula 1 for a long time and am immensely satisfied, now using Mmeeguiiars mirror glaze. The one by Meguiars is easier to apply and buff off, compared to formula 1.
I have also used 3m’s liquid wax, and it performed very poor in terms of durability.
Other waxes last me around 3-4 months with spray wax maintenance in between.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmxylorider (Post 4885215)

1. Power washer 2. Cordless drill

Thanks for your suggestions! These two are on my purchase list for a long time but I'm yet to take a plunge and purchase them.

Also, I've been eyeing a dry+wet vacuum cleaner to clean carpet and seats.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rālugāyi (Post 4885366)

Could you please share if any specific steps are taken for the windshield, headlights, and other glass areas.

I cleaned all glasses, headlamps, fog lights and tail lamps with Sonax Clear View concentrate, then decontaminated with clay bar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rālugāyi (Post 4885366)

when you did the under-body washing, was that at the all sides edges till the hand reach or any special procedure to cover and protect more. please share.

Since I don't have any ramp or other means of getting under the car, all I could do was clean the muck with stream of water from hose and then clean the reachable areas with a sponge and shampoo water.

They say, you can judge a gentleman with his shoes, I am sure you are quite a gentleman looking at your car (just using a proverb, no correlations please).

The shine on your car is amazing and wants me to buy a black car, though I have zero knowledge of how to keep it as shiny as possible.

While I understand the detailing learning curve is steep, what are the basic things and products you would recommend as must have to start with? Might get a new one soon in the garage, would love to keep it shining to start with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by justwheels (Post 4887872)

They say, you can judge a gentleman with his shoes, I am sure you are quite a gentleman looking at your car (just using a proverb, no correlations please).

Sometimes one shines the shoes so much that they don't get time to walk with them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by justwheels (Post 4887872)

While I understand the detailing learning curve is steep, what are the basic things and products you would recommend as must have to start with?

Please don't get yourself addicted to Car Detailing. Since you like adages, here is one by Mark Barrowcliffe "An obsession is a way for damaged people to damage themselves more"
It is an extremely addictive creativity that we car enthusiasts cannot run away from. I am very new to it, detailed my car last week. I wake up everyday and the first thing I do is go to the balcony to look at the car. I have even parked it in a way that the Bonnet / hood faces my balcony.
To answer your query, there is a thread on this forum which is more than an encyclopedia on Detailing a car. If you haven't gone through the below then spend the night on this thread and you shall wake up being enlightened :D

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ing-guide.html

@Pferdestarke
Thats one of the best detailing works I've seen. The car looks like a black mirror on Wheels!

I so wish that the Detailing Workshops would produce this level of shine and finish. Its difficult to get a good detailing job done even after spending 6-10K

On a serious note, please start a Youtube Channel if you haven't started one already.

Wet Candy look. Nothing beats that hands down.Inspired from the results I am planning to take the leap and buy a polisher along with the compounds and pads and would need your/forums help.

I have never used a polisher before so can you please reccomend something for a beginner like me on the following:-

1.DA/Rotary Polisher(Which one, Brand and make).VFM would be preffered.
2.Polishes,compunds to remove light to heavy swirls and scratches
3.Pads (There are so many colors that I often forget which one is for what.If you can throw some light it would be great)